HALIFAX, April 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Chantal Petitclerc, Canada's Chef de Mission for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, will continue her Canadian Tour on Thursday, April 21 with a stop in Halifax to promote Paralympic sport and local athletes on the road to Rio.

Halifax will be Petitclerc's fourth stop in a national tour that brought her to Ottawa/Gatineau in December, Calgary in January and Toronto in February.

In Halifax, Petitclerc will meet with deputy mayor Matt Whitman and local Rio 2016 hopeful, among others:

Pamela LeJean, one of Canada's strongest throwers in para-athletics, winner of gold (shot put) and bronze (javelin) at the Toronto 2015 Parapan American Games and silver (shotput) at the 2015 world championships

Nova Scotia para-athletics coach Ueli Albert and local athletes

Media are invited to the Canada Games Centre for photo, video and interview opportunities – and the chance to try out para-athletics throwing and racing events.

WHAT

Interview and photo/video opportunities

WHO

Chantal Petitclerc, Canada's Chef de Mission for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games hopeful Pamela LeJean (para-athletics)

Deputy Mayor Matt Whitman

Nova Scotia para-athletics coach Ueli Albert and local athletes

WHEN

Thursday, April 21, 2016

10 :00 a.m. to 11 :00 a.m.

WHERE

Canada Games Center26 Thomas Raddall Dr, Halifax, N.S. B3S 0E2

*Front desk will direct you to the Sport Centre

Petitclerc's cross-country tour will encompass eight Canadian cities until June 2016, aiming to build awareness of Canadian Paralympic athletes. Petitclerc, a five-time Paralympian and 14-time Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair racing, knows that community support is crucial to every athlete's success.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 27 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca